BILL REQ. #:  S-4314.1 

Read first time 01/16/08.   Referred to Committee on Human Services & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to a pilot program to increase family participation in juvenile offender programs; adding a new section to chapter 13.40 RCW; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The state has invested significantly in juvenile offender programs identified by the Washington state institute for public policy as having a positive cost-benefit ratio for taxpayers as the result of reductions in recidivism. Some of these programs demonstrate increased rates of success for juvenile offenders when his or her family appropriately participates in the needed programming. Parents may be more likely to participate if participation does not result in a financial burden. Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to increase incentives for appropriate and successful participation in evidence-based juvenile offender programs in order to further reduce juvenile offender recidivism, reduce crime, and increase fiscal benefits to the state.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 13.40 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) To the extent that funds are specifically appropriated for this purpose, the department of social and health services juvenile rehabilitation services administration shall establish a pilot program to promote increased participation and success in juvenile offender evidence-based programming for juveniles under the jurisdiction of a county or the department, and their families.
     (2) The pilot program shall provide that a parent or other persons legally obligated to care for and support the child shall receive a monetary incentive if the person consents to and successfully completes or makes a good faith effort to complete participation in a program recommended by the department as appropriate for the child and the person. The incentive may include, but is not limited to, reimbursements for the cost of travel and participation in the program and other incentives as determined by the department in consultation with the University of Washington school of medicine's department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences division of public behavioral health and justice.
     (3) The pilot sites shall include any county that has imposed the sales and use tax authorized by RCW 82.14.460. The participating juvenile offenders may include juvenile offenders residing in a county that has a pilot site, who is under the jurisdiction of either the county or state, and whose parent or other persons legally obligated to care for and support the child have demonstrated that participation in programming recommended by the department may be a financial burden.
     (4) The program must be a program listed in subsection (6) of this section which is reasonably available to the child and parent or other persons legally obligated to care for and support the child.
     (5) The department shall establish guidelines to determine whether a parent or other persons legally obligated to care for and support the child has demonstrated financial need for participation in the program and establish policies to consistently determine what constitutes successful completion of a program or a good faith effort to complete a program. The department shall consult with the University of Washington school of medicine's department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences division of public behavioral health and justice in development of the guidelines and policies.
     (6) The pilot program shall include the following programs identified by the Washington state institute for public policy in its October 2006 report: "Evidence-Based Public Policy Options to Reduce Future Prison Construction, Criminal Justice Costs and Crime Rates": Functional family therapy, multisystemic therapy, aggression replacement training, multidimensional treatment foster care, family integrated transitions, or other programs with a positive benefit-cost finding in the institute's report.
     (7) The pilot program shall be operational by December 1, 2008.
     (8) The department shall contract with the University of Washington to provide support and assistance in all phases of the pilot program, including initiating, implementing, training providers, providing quality assurance, and monitoring implementation.
     (9) The department, in cooperation with the University of Washington, shall evaluate the results of the pilot program, including whether there is any increase in juvenile or family participation in the programs identified in subsection (3) of this section, any increase in successful completion of services by the juvenile and his or her family or legal guardian or custodian, and any reduction in recidivism for a juvenile participating in the pilot program. The department and the University of Washington shall provide a preliminary report to the governor and the legislature on the results of the pilot program by December 1, 2010, and a final report by December 1, 2012.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   This act expires June 30, 2013.